SLOW THROUGH EDEN

by Gordon Glasco ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1992

From the late Glasco (Second Nature, 1981; The Days of Eternity, 1983): a WW II melodrama about the race to build an atomic bomb based upon the presumption that a single family was deeply involved in nuclear research in Germany, Russia, and the US. As the story opens, American Jew David Linz meets Katherine von Steiner, daughter of an embittered WW I major with leanings toward the developing Nazi Party. Each is a brilliant scientist attending the same German university in 1921. They fall in love and marry, despite her father's fierce opposition. In part two, set 18 years later, David, Katherine, and teenage son Jacob, living in Berlin, are torn apart because of the increasing persecution of Jews and Katherine's unwitting willingness to betray her family to regain her father's love. She is on the verge of making major scientific breakthroughs in the area of atomic fission and doesn't want to leave Germany, as do her husband and son. Instead, she arranges to compromise David's supporting research to achieve protection for her family. Part three follows David and Jacob to France, whence they have fled from the Nazis. They become convinced that not only did Katherine betray them, but that she is also lost to them forever. As the Germans invade and approach Paris, the two run to England, together with the Aloise Fregand, a beautiful Russian spy who captivates David. Part four reveals Katherine's fate and ends with a tragedy that sends Aloise and Jacob fleeing once again, now to Russia, where Jacob will become a key figure in nuclear research. Finally, justice prevails, the survivors find love, and things end about as well as they might. Readers who enjoyed Glasco's earlier books will probably forgive his excesses in this one, losing themselves in the classic themes of love and betrayal.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1992

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 592

Publisher: Poseidon/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1992

Categories: FICTION